I’m with Them: Lessons from My Children, by Elizabeth Eastwood

I’m with Them: Lessons from My Children chronicles the personal journey of a single white woman who adopts two children from war-torn Peru and raises them in suburban America. Caring for infants during a terrorist uprising, navigating the complexities of choosing schools, and grappling with teenage rebellion teach her valuable lessons about heritage and culture, identity and race, family and belonging.

Raised in America’s heartland, the author is surprised by the otherization her family faces. Her children have three strikes against them: they are adopted, brown-skinned, and raised by a single mom. Through them, she comes face to face with what it feels like to look different, be different, and stand out in a crowd. “I’m with them,” she often responds to strangers’ puzzled looks and prying comments.

This memoir blends vignettes—sometimes outrageous, often hilarious or poignant—with no-holds-barred social commentary that reveals deep truths about life in the United States.